Enter Soap
by Lu-na-oh
Summary: One day Mousse wished that Shampoo would love him, but things never go as wished...It's double trouble time! First three chapters re-written 2009, with more to come. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

A/N: Rewrite time! The original version was a bit crude to say at least, and I should have rewritten it a long time ago already, but never got myself to do it. However, now I finally did it, thanks to Ganheim. Enjoy!

* * *

Enter Soap

Prologue: The day Mousse learned not to wish for anything.

Disclaimer: Don't own Ranma ½ or the characters etc. etc. You know the drill.

* * *

"Hitoriken!"

In his imagination, the battle cry would have been followed by a shimmering red battle aura and a massive amount of ki. In the real world, however, exactly nothing happened. Mousse was left standing with his arms spread out, looking very stupid.

"Eh? It still didn't work? Damn!"

Suddenly, a whack of an infamous matriarch's staff hit him squarely in the back of his head made him wince in pain.

"Foolish boy! Trying to master that technique? You should know better! Cologne, the old but still powerful Amazon said, glaring at the black-haired boy holding his head.

Mousse lowered his gaze and looked at the pintsized old woman

"Why not? I've seen both you and Shampoo use it. Why couldn't I do the same? "This remark was followed by another whack of the staff. Mousse winced again.

"I'm the one talking here!" The matriarch snarled, then calmed down. "I don't mind you learning the technique, but I must warn you; it's a waste of time. It's impossible for you to use it properly."

Mousse stared at her. "Why?"

Cologne shook her head "Never mind. Although," she said, supporting a devious grin "I'm sure son-of-law could use it."

"What?!?" Mousse yelled: "Why could Ranma Saotome use a technique I can't?"

Cologne, instead of replying, turned around and started hopping to the back door.

"By the way, great-granddaughter said she needs you at the restaurant!" She added casually while leaving "Off you go now!"

"Yes, honoured elder..." Mousse said, muttering something a lot less polite under his breath. He sighed and started walking to the direction the elderly Amazon had disappeared.

The myopic martial artist rushed back into the restaurant, still annoyed by the technique not working and Cologne's remarks (and getting hit in the head twice didn't help either. He already knew he would have quite a headache before the end of the day). He did forget this all, however,

when his near-sighted eyes caught the image of an his purple-haired goddess. Squealing in delight, Mousse ran to her ready to embrace the love of his life.

"Shampoo! I lov-thawk-ouch!" Mousse, this time rubbing his cheek watched as the exceptionally angry Shampoo moved closer.

_Huh? Why is she so mad?_

"Stupid Mousse! No do that, especially not in work time! These take and go!" Shampoo growled.

Mousse sadly took the take-away box.

"Yes Shampoo." he said, trying to smile. "Hey, are you free this night?" He continued, although he knew he was pushing his luck "There's this new movie I think you'd like..."

Shampoo gave him a glare so cold it could have frozen Hell. Mousse started to sweat. He couldn't remember Shampoo ever being so furious. He gulped and tried to back of.

"Shampoo no time for movies has! Go already!" Shampoo said and turned her back. She then turned her head a bit and added in Chinese: "*Or you'll wish you were never born!*"

Mousse winced in terror and ran from the restaurant, his beloved childhood friend continuing giving him a stare that made the South Pole seem positively tropical.

* * *

A few hours later

Mousse was wheeling his bike across a bridge. It was late, and the setting sun coloured him, the bike and the surroundings with red and orange light. Mousse sighed

"Why is Shampoo so cold towards me?" He said to himself, continuing to walk.

"She makes me so depressed..." He sighed again, his expression telling about anguish and melancholy. He raised his head to the skies looking for his lucky star, but as always, couldn't find it (failing once again to remember that putting his glasses on could ease the search...)

"I wish that Shampoo would love me."

Suddenly, a whirl of glitter erupted from the ground a few feet from him, and a young girl who seemed to be about his age appeared along with pink smoke and rose leaves. She landed gracefully on the asphalt, but didn't manage to avoid a small puddle. She slipped and fell over to the ground.

"Oww..." She moaned, trying to get up "Why do I always land on my butt?"

Mousse stared at her

The girl got up and dusted herself before levelling her gaze back to Mousse's level. She was very pretty, with big, dark green eyes and long, lustrous black hair. She was wearing an outfit that looked like a mix between traditional Chinese clothing and a pink school uniform, and it suited her quite well. Mousse couldn't help but stare.

"Uh...Erm…" He staggered, surprised.

"*Do you think I'm pretty?*" The girl asked in Chinese and started to giggle.

"*Actually,*" Mousse said, finding forming understandable words possible again: "*I was staring at the wings...*" Mousse said pointing at the small pair of wings attached to the girl's back.

"*Oh, okay...*" The girl said, looking a bit nervous "*Do you think they are pretty?*" she said, flashing a shy smile

"*I guess...*" Mousse said, scratching the back of his head. "*But why do you have wings? Who are you? WHAT are you?*"

The winged girl smiled and started twirling around.

"*I'm...*" she said, waving a pink plastic wand in her hand. A small group of people dressed head-to-toes in black rushed in and set up some explosives, and ran off and disappeared as fast as they had arrived. The explosives went out, covering the nearby area with pink smoke and glitter. Mousse started to cough when he got some smoke in his lungs.

Suddenly the girl appeared from the smoke, flashing Mousse another smile.

"*...Shou Nu Gu, the Deus Ex Machina extraordinaire!*" she shouted and did a victory pose. "*I was sent from the D.E.M office to take care of your wish!*" she said to the baffled martial artist. "*I guess you could call me your fairy godm- wait a sec, I'm not that old...*" she suddenly stopped and stared at the sky, obviously thinking for a better term.

"*Umm...maybe I could be your fairy... cousin?*" Shou Nu Gu stared at Mousse, unsure.

"*That sounds good enough.*" Mousse said, looking around. Whatever was the reason for this lunacy, it was getting late and he wanted to go to home and rest.

"*Anyway, I'm here...um... to fulfil your wish for Shan Pu's love, so... (ahem)..*." She lifted the cheap-looking plastic wand and pointed it at Mousse, before noticing the boy wasn't paying her any attention. That was because he was totally lost in his dreams (worse than even Ryouga could ever get lost...)

"*You mean...Shampoo would love me?*" He managed to say, speaking mostly to himself

"*We would get married, have many children and live rest of our lives in happiness!*" The dreamy look in his eyes disappeared as soon as it had appeared. "*Ah...But...No! Wait!*"

Shou Nu Gu lowered her arm "*What's wrong?*"

"*I-I..*" Mousse stumbled in his words "*I don't want her to love me because of you put a spell on her or something! I want her to love me because of...*" His voice was hardly louder than a whisper "*me.*"

The self-proclaimed Deus Ex Machina laughed

"*That's alright!*" She said happily "*How about we do it this way; I'll only help you a bit, and then you can win her over all by yourself! Does that sound good? Hey?*" She waved her hand in front of Mousse, who had once again lost himself in the thought.

"*Anyway,*" she raised her wand again "*O powers of water and magic, help me to fulfill his wish!*" A whirlpool of water (and glitter, of course) appeared around both her and Mousse.

"*Huh?*" Mousse let out, surprised

"*May his wish come true!*" The wand in her hand emanated blue light so bright it blinded Mousse for a moment. He started to feel a bit queasy as he felt something radically changing...

* * *

"*I'm so sorry!" Shou Nu Gu said once again, moving her weight from one leg to another. "Water magic is really unpredictable; I didn't know what's going to happen!*"

"*Like that helps! How does THIS help me to win Shan Pu's love?!?*" Mousse screamed in anguish.

Shou Nu Gu looked very uncomfortable "*Well actually, I have no idea.*"

"*You have WHAT?!?*"

The girl sighed

"*I just said I don't know the effect in advance. BUT,*" She silenced Mousse's protest, "*the water magic knows exactly what it's doing!*" She waved her wand again. The whirl of glitter appeared again.

"*In a week Shan Pu will love you, Mu Si!*" She shouted and vanished into glitter and pink smoke. Mousse could see the people in back running away again.

"*Hey, wait!*" Mousse shouted trying to desperately reach the girl.

"*Sure, what's wrong?*" The glitter and smoke vanished and Shou Nu Gu was standing right in front of Mousse

"*Huh? You waited?*" Mousse said, baffled.

"*Why wouldn't have I?*" the girl before snapping her fingers and giving a small yelp. "*Oh, shoot! I shouldn't wait! It's against the Deus Ex Machina regulations! Umm...Bye!*" She said, and this time disappeared for real. All that was left was tons of glitter and rose leaves.

"*Hey, that's not fair*" Mousse screamed at the girl who hasn't there anymore. "Oh, great! How I'll explain THIS to Shampoo..." He stared into the sky, still unable to find his lucky star. "This won't end well..."

To be continued...

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A/N: Huh, I didn't think I did any radical changes but the word count literally doubled. What the? I'm most likely editing the following chapters (save for the last one which is quite alright) whenever I have some time in my hands. Until then, ciao!


	2. Double trouble

A/N: Rewrite once again. Enjoy!

* * *

Enter Soap,

Chapter one: Double Trouble

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is not mine and will never be. Fair enough?

* * *

Cat café, 10 p.m.

Shampoo was sitting by the kitchen table, holding a tea mug filled with still steaming herbal tea, and absent-mindedly staring out of the window. The day had been long and tiring, and the fact Mousse had spent half the day slacking off didn't help. In fact, he was still who knows where. Shampoo sighed.

"*Where is Mu Si?*" she quietly asked herself.

Usually Mousse would return at least at seven o'clock, glomping her or begging her to go out with her, but not today. Well, after her outburst in the morning it wasn't exactly surprising, but still... She gave a sad smile to her teacup.

_I shouldn't have yelled at him...I'm just so tired of all this. And now he's mad at me and won't come back...no, that's not like Mu Si- Hey,_ she thought, squeezing the tea mug in her hand tightly, _I actually miss him. Though, why shouldn't I? He IS my friend, and besides, it doesn't look like I have anyone else..._

She sighed again. It was clear that Ranma had fallen for Akane, she knew it, and there was no chance he would change his mind no matter what she did.

_But I love him too! It's so unfair! Why did pervert girl win?_

All her attempts to attract his attention had failed. And still, day after day, days turning to weeks and weeks to months, she wished that one day Ranma would realise...but even if he did, it wouldn't change anything...It was hopeless. But still...there was a shining ray of hope, no matter how dim nowadays that gave her strength to carry on with her pursuit. She just didn't want to give up, not yet.

_I'm not going back to China without him, without my airen..._

Suddenly, she heard someone stumbling to the restaurant, interrupting her thoughts.

"Mousse?" she shouted. "You late!"

"I-I'm sorry, my darling Shampoo!" A voice that was definitely Mousse's replied.

Shampoo frowned. Mousse sounded almost terrified.

"Mousse? You alright?" she asked as she left the kitchen and went to the restaurant area.

The boy looked absolutely terrified when seeing her, staggering a few steps backwards, and covering his back with his hands.

"You alright?" Shampoo asked again, frowning even harder.

"I-I'm fine, please Shampoo, just let me go to the attic." he said, slowly moving towards the room in the left, where the stairs that lead to his tiny room were located. "Please."

"What Mousse hiding behind Mousse's back?" Shampoo asked curiously. Mousse wasn't half bad at lying, but he had never been able to hide something from her: she had always been able to see what he thinks from his face. This time she saw something was wrong, very badly wrong.

"It's nothing! It isn't! I'm fine! I just want to go to my room! Please Shampoo" He was nearly screaming now.

"Calm down, Shampoo just want to help!" She said in calm tone, trying to soothe him. Her words did seem to calm Mousse down a bit, but he still winced and walked backwards out of the restaurant. Shampoo was left standing alone in the restaurant, astonished.

_What on earth is going on?_ She thought_ I'd probably better go after him just in case..._she then heard someone climbing in from the upstairs window, bumping into the wall twice and finally stumbling to the attic.

"Oh, at least I know where he is. I'd better leave him alone for a while." She then sighed and returned to drink her now cold tea.

* * *

_What am I going to do? What am I going to DO?_ Mousse screamed in his mind, staring at his hand in the dark attic room, desperately dying to think.

_What IS water magic, I've never heard of it! The only thing it reminds me of is the old lady who always throws water at me when... water? Transform? Jusenkyo!_ He slapped his forehead as he was hit by a wave of relief. _Why didn't I realise it before? All this fuss for almost nothing. Still, I need to get some hot water without Shampoo noticing. Hopefully that'll fix THIS._

He looked at his hands and shuddered. He had seen arms like this, sure, but when they were his own, well, it was different now...

He could hear soft steps climbing up the stairs and soon heard Shampoo's voice behind the door. She sounded puzzled.

"Mousse? What you doing? Can Shampoo come in?" She tried to open the door, but Mousse had locked it from the inside. "Mousse!" she shouted, now really starting to worry. What was wrong with him?

"Shampoo." The martial artist behind the door suddenly said. His voice was rather calm compared to earlier. Shampoo blinked, surprised.

"Could you heat some water for me? I'd really appreciate it." Mousse continued.

Shampoo frowned again, but then shrugged her shoulders. If that's what he needed, why not?

"Okay Mousse, Shampoo will. Wait a minute" She replied, flashing an absolutely delightful little smile that unfortunately went without anyone noticing before descending the wooden stairs back to second floor.

"Thank you." Mousse whispered after she was gone. It seemed like Shampoo had once again founded her softer side: at times she could be so kind and gentle no-one would believe she really was a fierce and competent amazon warrior. One of Mousse's reasons to live was to witness and cherish those peaceful moments. In those rare moments she transformed, at least in Mousse's nearsighted eyes, from the goddess of war to the goddess of love and peace. Her more gentle tendencies had actually shown more in Japan than ever back in China; managing a restaurant clearly had helped the girl to become more insightful at certain areas. _Of course, she really is a fierce amazon warrior_, Mousse mused, _and she'll always be. It's a part of her, and I love her no matter how ruthless and cold she can be. She's always my darling Shampoo and I know behind the bubbly facade and perfectly honed fighting skills there's a charming and beautiful young girl I've loved since I've met her. Oh Shampoo..._

Mousse's daydreams were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone carefully carrying something heavy upstairs.

"Mousse? Shampoo have the water here." she said, putting the kettle full of hot water she had been carrying next to his door.

Mousse could then hear the old stairs squeaking as she left, apparently not wanting to disrupt him. Mousse waited for a while, and then shouted: "Thank You!" after her. He then carefully and very slowly unlocked the wooden door, opened it just a little and grabbed the kettle.

* * *

Shampoo knew Mousse has a good sense of hearing, so she had faked leaving from the attic by first walking down and then climbing back as carefully as possible, balancing on the handrail. She had mentally send her old teacher, who had never forgotten to remind her students how important a good sense of balance is and had made them train it for several hours every week, a small thanks before landing next to the door as silently as a cat. After that she had just silently stood there, waiting. She didn't have to wait for long to see a hand that looked more like bird's claws take the handle and pulled the kettle into the dark room. She stared at the once again shut door, clearly at the loss of words. Carefully, she leaned to the door and started listening with a serious look on her face. First there was a sound of water been poured, then a silence moment, then a scream of frustration. Shampoo reached the handle and slammed the recently un-locked door wide open. Despite there being no lights in the room, she could see enough to realise something was wrong...

* * *

The creature looked like Mousse. It had his eyes, his face, and his surprised expression. But... the hands...Shampoo was pretty sure that last time she had seen them, they weren't claws, AND she was also quite sure that Mousse didn't have wings.

"Why? Why didn't I change back? Why am I still a monster?" The creature that was Mousse (Shampoo was now pretty sure of that) cried. He was so shocked he hadn't even noticed Shampoo entering the room despite the noise she had made. He continued sobbing

"Stupid fairy, stupid wish, stupid me!" Then he sunk to the floor, still sobbing. Shampoo felt a burning feeling in her chest that disappeared the moment she noticed it. Could she be feeling sorry for him?

"Mousse?" Shampoo asked softly, carefully walking closer "What happen?"

Mousse raised his gaze from the floor and stared directly into Shampoo's eyes.

"Shampoo? You recognise me?" Despite his poor vision he could see Shampoo smiling softly. The instant he realised it his face brightened up and he relaxed.

"How did you recognise me?" He asked in amazement.

"Easy, stupid!" she laughed. The boy's strange form didn't change the fact he was still her childhood friend.

"*You look just the same as usually, except for the fact you would merge into the crowd at Mt. Phoenix with ease. Relax! But how did this happen? Were you inventing a new bird technique or something?*" She tilted her head, curious.

Mousse sighed.

"*I'd better tell you the whole thing I guess...*"

* * *

Cat café, 11.30 p.m.

"*So, you're trying to tell me that some weird 'fairy cousin' turned you into a birdman with a pink plastic wand?!?*" Shampoo asked, trying hard not to laugh. They were now back at the kitchen, sitting on the wooden counter. Shampoo had made Mousse some herbal tea to calm his nerves, although Mousse struggled to handle the mug properly with his bird claws.

"*It's true! I thought it might work like Jusenkyo curses, but hot water didn't change me back!*" Mousse whined. He sighed again. Shampoo picked up a half-empty glass of water she had been sipping and smiled deviously at Mousse.

"*How about cold water?*" She grinned and emptied the contents of the glass on the top of the boy's head.

"Ack!" Mousse jerked backwards, startled "*Shan Pu! That was really cold....Ah!*" he paused, staring at his hands. "*It worked! Look, Shan Pu, you were right! Thank you so much!*" he was still staring at his now normal hands, his face supporting a grin so wide it looked his face was going to split any moment now. Shampoo looked at him, also smiling, although more subtlety. Mousse had always been like that; making a big fuss about something before even properly inspecting the matter.

"*Oh, Shan Pu!*" he laughed and glomped her.

Shampoo decided to let him cling for just a second before pushing him away as a compensation for his new curse (and a tiny bit because, well, it was always nice to get hugged even if the expression of affection didn't come from her airen, and lately she really had felt like needing a hug.), but then she noticed something strange.

"Nhh?" Mousse soon noticed it himself and let go of her. Both of them stared at Mousse's chest. There were two lumps in it.

"*What the...*"

* * *

"*It's okay Mousse, it really is...*" Shampoo tried to soothe him (or her...whatever).

"*It's not!*" He screamed in response, before remembering who she was talking to and lowering her voice, but only a bit. "*What about my true form? This it not fair!*"

"*Shhh, you'll wake great-grandmother up!*" She said as Mousse stomped upstairs. "*Besides, I'm sure this...transformation must have some good sides too.*"

"*Like what?*" Mousse asked grumpily. "*I sure can't see any!*"

"*What a surprise.*" Shampoo sighed. "*Well, at least now you're a real amazon warrior.*" she said quietly, managing to make Mousse blush. Luckily, the comment also made her stop walking away.

Shampoo walked to her, examining Mousse's new body with her eyes.

"*Actually, you look a bit like me now.*" She said, turning her head. "'*Look, you shrunk only a couple of inches, and your face is almost the same as before. If you want, you can act that you're still male. Wait here.*"

She walked to her room and soon returned with something in her hand.

"*It's a 'sarashi' as Japanese call it.*" She explained and shoved it to Mousse. "*That should take care of those, until we find a proper solution.*" She pointed at Mousse's recently gained bosom before turning away again.

"*But really, it's like not being a woman is the worst thing in the world...*" She said, obviously insulted by Mousse's bewildered reaction to her newest transformation. She walked back to her room. Mousse was left standing in the corridor holding what Shampoo had thrown her, dumbfounded.

_Damn, I must have angered her! But she doesn't understand! It's not that being a woman or losing my real body bothers me (expect that the small, nagging voice in her head said that it did indeed bother her, but she brushed it away), it's that...well, as a woman my chances at ending up with you are even smaller than before..._

She sighed, then turned around and walked back to the stairs. Time to catch some sleep. Maybe the new morning would make her life look brighter.

To be continued...

* * *

A/N: I really should pick a pace with these re-writes if I ever want to finish the story. Hahaha. *sweatdrop*. Anyway, thank you for reading! Reviews will be highly appreciated! I'll start working with the next chapter ASAP (so you can expect it to be published this year still *laugh*)


	3. Face the truth

A/N: Another rewrite. I'm on the roll with these! Hee! Anyway, on with the show! Enjoy!

* * *

Enter Soap,

Chapter 2: Face the Truth

Disclaimer: Don't own Ranma ½, yadda yadda yaa. Seriously, does someone really believe I make profit with these? Think again...

* * *

Mousse's room, 7.30 a.m.

Mousse woke up when a ray of light beamed from the tiny window and hit his face. He slowly rose to a sitting position, letting out a yawn and then scratching the back of his head, not quite remembering what happened yesterday.

He got up and slowly (he felt a bit wobbly still) walked to the small window. The sun had just risen and even Mousse with his sore eyesight could see that Nerima looked very nice indeed in morning light, even now in the autumn. For last months it had always seemed to be so gray, even when the summer had been at its peak and the park had been full of lush, green flora. Maybe it was because of Shampoo... She had got depressed after Ranma and Akane's wedding fiasco and had been very quiet and introspective, very unshampoo-ish. It had gotten worse, and Mousse had heard her crying softly in her room many times. She still tried it keep up her bubbly facade to everyone around her, but she couldn't fool Mousse despite his best effort: she was clearly tired and very lonely.

Seeing Shampoo's pain had made Mousse's heart ache so badly. How he had wished he could just hug her and make her pain go away, be the one for her. But Mousse wasn't the one for her...she wanted Ranma, and it wasn't just a clingy obsession, she had truly fallen in love with the pigtailed martial artist. Knowing this made Mousse feel even worse, but he had brushed it off, trying to convince himself one day, one beautiful day, Shampoo would give up on Ranma and finally notice the man that had loved ever since their childhood...

Until then, Mousse had tried his best to keep her from getting any more depressed. It hadn't worked out too well. Actually, yesterday had been the first day she had laughed out loud for ages...What that had been about again?

Mousse pondered for a while before snapping his fingers.

"*Oh yes, it was...*" the realisation slowly sank to him, and slowly, very slowly, he lowered his gaze.

"Gyaaaah!!!"

* * *

"Shampoo!" Mousse called from the attic.

"*What is it?*" Shampoo snapped in Chinese, rather annoyed. She had slept very badly and Mousse had woken her up.

"*I need some help with this 'sarashi' you gave me!*"Mousse shouted back, in a lot more pleasant tone.

"*Help? What kind of help?*" Shampoo frowned.

"*Well, first you could tell me what it is! It looks like bandage to me!*". The myopic martial artist replied.

What an idiot! She should know what it is! Shampoo thought while climbing the stairs. She arrived to the other Amazon's room.

"*It's a chest wrap.*". She told the "girl" that looked staggeringly lot like her.

"*A chest...Ooh! Of course.*" Mousse exclaimed, now looking rather cheerful. "*Thank you, Shan Pu!*" She said happily, flashing her goofy smile, completely ignorant of the daggers Shampoo was firing from her eyes.

Shampoo raised his hand and smacked Mousse.

"*That's for waking me up!*" she growled, then turned around and left the room muttering something about idiots and alarm clocks.

Mousse closed the door after her, sighed, and rubbed her cheek.

_Odd, she didn't hit even half as hard as usually_. She thought and started to unbutton her nightgown.

"*There's one other good side about this,*" she said to herself. "*Shampoo can't threaten to cook me for dinner anymore...*"

* * *

Mousse stared at the mirror. Without her glasses the image was just a blur of black and white. Then she put her glasses on and looked again, and stared in surprised. She did look surprisingly much like Shampoo, only with shiny black hair instead of exotic purple. She had the same big eyes she had, only the colour was different (hers were blue-green while Shampoo's were purple). Her haircut was of course different, but her face; her small nose and pretty smile (as Mousse smiled nervously at her reflection) were very close indeed, almost identical to the other girl's if you didn't look too closely.

"*Great.*" Mousse said thoughtfully. "*If I had wider shoulders, I would look a lot more like a guy. I can't really do anything to my height, and I really need smaller shoes, but I think I have a pair of shoulder pads somewhere...*"

She started searching for them from inside the right sleeve of her cape but suddenly paused.

_Why I'm doing this? Because the old ghoul would get mad? No, she would laugh first like Shan Pu did, but that's not a big deal!_

She stared at her than twenty-four hours ago they had first been transformed into clwas and and into these, hands so soft and small they felt more like a child's hands. _Okay, I don't want Ranma to know I'm a girl, but otherwise, who cares? If it doesn't bother me, I can't see why anyone else should care._

The problem was Mousse did care. She had never tried to be a macho (expect for once when he had been fourteen and had somehow gotten the impression Shampoo liked ultra-macho guys. He had then tried to grow himself a moustache and train his abs even more, but when Shampoo had proclaimed he looked like an idiot with his sparse moustache, he gave it up, deciding it did look stupid) in a sense, and it really didn't matter THAT MUCH whether he was a guy or girl. _But_, she thought as he felt the same sickening sensation from last night,_ I can't marry Shan Pu if I'm a girl! The laws are even more strict about that than the kiss of death! If I stay as a girl I can never be with Shampoo!_

She sighed. _Maybe I go out just like this. I'm sure no-one cares that much and besides,_ she thought, remembering Shampoo's cold words from the day before,_ it really isn't that bad, being female..._

Still, it felt strange not having a chance to revert to his original body. He had been stuck as a duck for a while once and it hadn't been pleasant. Of course, he was now human (or humanoid, he thought, remembering his other form from yesterday) in both of his forms and he could still talk. But it wasn't NORMAL.

"*Yeah right, who am I trying to fool*", she quietly said to herself, "*my life has never been normal. This is just another twist, and anyway it isn't permanent, right?*"

"No idea," someone said behind her back "why ask Shampoo?" Mousse only now noticed the reflection of wild purple hair in the mirror.

"Ack, Sha-shampoo!" Mousse yelped "I'm sorry, I was talking to myself! I didn't mean to bother you!" _Gosh, Shampoo really looks tired! I've never seen so dark circles around anyone's eyes before!_

"Great-grandmother say she want you downstairs." Shampoo told him with a tired voice "Go fast!" Mousse nodded as a way of saying thanks before rushing downstairs. Shampoo was left staring alone in the bathroom, staring the dirty mirror.

* * *

"Mousse! Take these to table five!"

Cologne shouted and threw bowls of ramen towards her. Mousse grabbed them gracefully, balancing one on top of her head and carried them carefully to table five, where three grinning high school boys were sitting. She had been right. When hearing about Mousse's little "problem", Cologne had laughed so hard that her old monkey-like face had been twice as wrinkled than usual, (her face had looked like a pickled prune...) but then she had just shrugged her shoulders and said in her creaky voice:

"I'll try to find a solution, but it won't be easy! You'd better start working now, I'll be right back."

She had then left with Shampoo, and when they had returned (right after Mousse had finished cleaning the tables), Shampoo had been carrying a dozen of heavy magic books.

"Take these and read them, but only on your spare time, girl. Maybe you'll find something useful."

Mousse had bowed in surprise. The matriarch had actually tried to help her! Amazing! Anyway, she had no time to read those books now. She might not be too keen of her transformation, but the boys seemed to be glad about seeing a new cute waitress (Mousse had even switched her normal garb to a pair of silk pants and shirt she had borrowed from Shampoo and an apron in case Ranma would pay them a visit, so she could fake she was just another waitress and not Saotome's arch-nemesis with a new curse) and it was easier to move around in a more petite body.

Mousse sighed. At least Ranma hadn't been here today AND she had avoided hot water (she was certain her suddenly transforming into a strange birdlike creature wouldn't be good for business, not even in Nerima). Maybe everything would turn out fine after all. She started humming a happy tune and grabbed the next bowls Cologne threw towards her.

* * *

"*Mu Si!*"

"*Yes Shan Pu?*" Mousse asked, blinking. She had been cleaning the tables again after a long day of work. The restaurant sure had been busy today.

"*The delivery service didn't bring our groceries today!*" Shampoo shouted from the kitchen. "*We don't have anything fresh left in the house for tomorrow!*"

"*Oh dear.*" Mousse said, surprised. The delivery service had never failed to bring them their groceries for the next day before. Oh well, I guess everything has to happen for the first time first. "*Should I go and get some then?*"

"*Please!"! I'm writing you a shopping list now!*"

Soon Shampoo ran there, holding a piece of paper in one hand a brown leather wallet in the other one.

"*The grocery store next to Ucchans' should be open till 12 p.m... Go fast!*" she said, looking rather stressed.

Mousse took the shopping list

"*You can count on me!*" she said, making a silly army salute. Shampoo let out a small giggle before starting to look anxious again. Mousse turned on her heels and ran outside.

"*I'll be back soon!*" He shouted from a distance. Shampoo closed the door after her, letting out a sigh of relief.

"*Thank you...*" She whispered

* * *

A/N: Guess what? Only one (or two XD) chapter to go! Go me! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and that it was more readable than the old version. The next chapter will be up soon with any luck. Until then, ciao! Reviews are highly appreciated as usual :)


	4. Some store, some service!

A/N: Sorry, not a real revision. I'm kind of busy now, so it might take some to time before the next update. What's this then? I just spaced the chapter a bit to make it more readable. Sorry for the low quality, hopefully it won't remain so for too long.

* * *

Enter Soap

Chapter 3: Some store, some service!

Disclaimer: Regrettably, I don't own Ranma or any of its characters.

* * *

Mousse ran through the empty streets towards the grocery store closest to Cat Caf . Sure, she could go to a 24/7 supermarket (there was at least two not too far away.) But remembering the quality last time, it was no good. And anyway, they didn't sell even half of the groceries she needed. "Stupid winter opening times!" She muttered to herself while approaching the store. Luckily it was still open. Mousse had bought noodles from there many times before, and the old shopkeeper was kind and helpful even though he often talked the customers under a bench with his stories about the wars he had fought, catastrophes he had survived, and today's worthless youths. Mousse sighed and walked in.

She noticed even with her poor eyesight that the person behind the counter wasn't the moustache-faced old man who owned the store. She adjusted her glasses and saw that the person was a young girl wearing store assistant's clothes. She seemed to be quite bored, leaning on the counter. She had long, silky black hair and huge green eyes. Mousse frowned. She reminded her about someone.

"Hey, it's you!" Mousse suddenly shouted and ran across the store to the other girl, who didn't anymore look bored. "Ain't you the stupid fairy cousin?" she raged "Turn me back to normal"

"Shh, cut it out!" hissed the sales assistant (who, of course, was Shou Nu Gu) "You'll wake him up, if you won't be careful!" True enough, they heard grumping from upstairs.

"Sonoko! What is it?" The storeowners' voice called from above the store. He sounded sleepy. "Is it a burglar? If is, I'll show him"

"It's just a customer! You can go back to sleep!" Sonoko replied and then turned back to face Mousse.

"Sonoko?" She asked.

"Well, the Japanese prefer calling me that." She sat on a stool next to the counter. "Have a seat." She said, pointing another stool next to the first one. Mousse sat on it warily.

"So, what's the problem?" Sonoko asked, her green eyes twinkling. "Something you'd like to ask"

"You could start with telling me why are you working here." Mousse said, glanced the store. It was very small, and seemed stuffed. The shelves were filled with anything you could need from potatoes to chopped octopus.

"What do ya think?" She laughed "I need some money to get back home and this IS a nice job, and also very well-paid. The old guy who owns the place is too old to fill the shelves alone anyway." She paused and looked upstairs, where could be heard some light snoring.

"About your first demand," Mousse blushed remembering her rage. "I can't turn you "normal" as you call it, because A) I don't know how to do it and B) it's against the deus ex machina regulations AND the plot of this story"

"Oh, great!" Mousse groaned, but kept listening. Maybe Sonoko would tell her something useful. "So, how about this situation? Why I have to look like this?" She asked, pointing out her new figure.

"I've been thinking of it, and I THINK I know the reason." Sonoko answered. She jumped off the stool and walked behind the counter. "Tell me, who is your worst enemy?" Mousse's fists clenched.

"Ranma Saotome..." She growled. Ranma was the reason of Shampoo's misery. It was his fault Mousse originally got cursed. He, (Mousse nearly started crying) was the reason Shampoo hated...wait a second! That's not quite true! Whole today (and yesterday evening), Shampoo haven't seemed to hate Mousse so much at all... still, Ranma was the royal pain in the bottom. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sonoko.

"Exactly what I thought!" She said cheerfully. Mousse frowned as Sonoko lifted a kettle and a bucket from behind the counter. She could hear splashing inside them. "Okay, I think you have two options." She lifted her fingers as saying that. "First..." she emptied the contents of the kettle all over Mousse.

"Ouch! That was hot!" She shouted, as she transformed into a winged bird-monster.

"Oh no! I just fixed my robe this morning!" He wailed, pointing at the two large holes, which had appeared into the Chinese robe along with the black wings. Sonoko didn't care but continued lecturing.

"So, option number one is to kick Ranma's ass with that form. You should be stronger than before and faster! That should work as an advantage. Or.." She now splashed him with the cold water in the bucket.

"... you could understand how he feels by staying as a girl for a while. I don't think his life is very cheerful either. You could understand him more, even become his friend. Anyway, it's your choice." Mousse stared at her.

"And how does that help Shampoo to love me? I think you have mixed me with someone else"

"I'm afraid I haven't" She replied "It works, some way or other, if you just accept it. You could try instead of criticizing!" She glared at Mousse. "I'm the fairy god-, cou- , WHATEVER! Just listen sometimes!" She walked muttering towards the storage room.

"Hey, wait! What about my shoppings!" Mousse shouted after her.

"Just take them, you can pay later!" was her reply as she disappeared to the other room.

Mousse stood there for a while, then pulled the shopping list from here sleeve and started collecting needed items in her sleeves. She soon left, closing the door behind her. Now she had lot to think about. Not only "her options" but something in Sonoko that reminded him about her peaceful childhood days when he practiced martial arts and climbed into the areas highest tree near to Jusenkyou, but she just couldn't remember what. The streets were nearly empty, though noises of traffic and many people in center Tokyo was heard even down in Nerima. She sighed (it had become her hobby nowadays) and started walking back to Cat caf in the chilly winter evening.

To be continued...


	5. Cycling thoughts

Enter Soap Chapter 4

A/N: I'm really, truly and honestly sorry for not writing this earlier! I have lot of reasons for it (from starting high school to computer crashes) but it's still not quite enough to explain a YEAR. Sorry! I hope someone still reads this fic P. Anyway, this is going to be a rather short chapter, but it's still better than nothing, right? Anyway, on with the show! I'll rant more after the chapter ;).

Special thanks to all reviewers and especially Icesythe.

--

"Mousse!"

The black-haired martial artist raised her head at Cologne's call.

"Take these deliveries and do it fast! We need you here as soon as possible."

Mousse sighed. Cat café used to be very popular, air filled with laughter and chatting and the smell of noodles, financial issues running smoothly and, naturally, there had been a lot to do. Nowadays, well... for an unknown reason, the café's popularity among the local citizens had increased to an amazing level. The restaurant was always packed full and on top of that, people ordered take-away from them almost twenty-four hours per day. The Amazons were making a lot of money, that's true, but there simply was way too much work for so few people.

She snapped her fingers. _So that's why those circles have appeared under Shampoo's eyes_. Mousse hadn't slept well for a few weeks either, but at least she was used to it by now (thanks to all the dishes the old ghoul had made her wash at 1 a.m.).

The old ghoul in question interrupted her thoughts by whacking her on the head with her cane.

"Hurry up! You've no time start zoning out now! get a move on!"

Mousse winced, dodged another well aimed hit and made her way to the back door.

--

"Let's see now...okay, first two orders of chicken ramen and one order of assorted noodles to the Takedas." Mousse read while riding her bike over a bridge. "That's just around the corner. And then there's the fried rice with shrimps and another order of ramen to the Shindous...that's quite long away from here..." A gentle breeze brushed over her. Mousse sighed happily and started smiling. She truly liked riding a bike. Although just packing the orders in her sleeves and bouncing from a rooftop to other might've been faster, this was by far more pleasant. Her mother had given her the bike as a present when she had turned fifteen. Since then she had taken it with her whenever possible. Mousse had been worried at first when she hasn't sure could she take it with her to Japan, but eventually she had been able to fit it in her sleeve (it took half an hour, and all the other circus performers gave her quite an earful concerning the silly attempt.)

_What I most liked about my bike,_ She thought, _is the fact that I've got some time to think_. It was already sunset, and the grey kerb was coloured with vivid red. Mousse stopped for a while, admiring the beautiful landscape as the rays of light hit the canal. The water shone like gold. It was a amazing sight. Suddenly, a less pretty sight of angry Cologne popped into her head and she decided to make haste before she'd been used as a training dummy. She jumped on her bike and left again at a considerablely high speed.

--

"Only one more to go!" Mousse exclaimed happily after receiving the payment (and a somewhat large tip) from a friendly customer and dashing off again. She rode down a hill as fast as the wind, giggling like a five-year-old. Everything had gone perfectly. None of the customers had said anything about her new appearance (a boy with bleached bangs had narrowed his eyes, but that was all). On the contrary, everyone had been just like nothing had happened, like her voice wasn't more high-pitched than few days and she had always been short, chatting with her and (to her delight) gave her tips.

_I'm really getting used to be a girl,_ Mousse thought, _I didn't even feel like I had to fake to still be a boy. It feels...well, not bad. I wonder why Ranma had made such a fuss about it._

She gritted her teeth. The cursed Saotome has just been toying with them, whining about his curse, even though everyone else had it worse. At least he stayed as a human no matter what. And at least...he has the possibility to return to his normal body. _I don't even have that anymore..._

_It would be alright otherwise, but what about Shampoo? I can't marry her like this! And as for the other form...it beats being a duck, but no way I can look like that in public. If I'd be lucky, everyone would just think I'm a stupid cosplayer or something, but people in Nerima have seen so much weird things by now that they're more likely to all a police or something. That stupid Sonoko is just making my life harder! I'll get her for this..._

After sulking a while, Mousse reached at her sleeve to fetch the list. _This is no time to feel sorry for myself. There must be a solution. But first, the last order..._ She opened the list and read the name.

Tendou.

--

A/N: Yay, a cliffhanger! Well, not really P. Thanks for reading my story. I'll continue whenever I have time and/or I'm not suffering from a huge writer's block. Oops, I forgot that I'm going to England next week...well I'll write after that. As always, reviews are highly anticipated. See you! )


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